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This leaflet is a brief guide for those who rent from a landlord who lives in the same house and may therefore be what is known as a resident landlord.
Important: This leaflet is only a general guide and is not a complete and authoritative statement of the law. If you want to know more about your particular rights and responsibilities you should get advice from a solicitor, a housing advice centre or Citizens Advice Bureau. You may be able to get help with the cost of legal advice.
The address of your nearest solicitor can be obtained from the Law Society of Scotland (telephone 0131-226 7411) or from Yellow Pages. The law of course applies equally to both sexes and in this booklet 'she' may be read for 'he' wherever it appears.
Someone with a resident landlord does not have the same rights as a tenant whose landlord does not live in the same house. Nevertheless, there are still some important rights which will apply for your protection.
If you are a private sector tenant and your landlord is not resident, you will probably have a regulated tenancy (if your tenancy started before 2 January 1989) or an assured tenancy (if your tenancy started since then). Information about these kinds of lettings is in other leaflets produced by The Scottish Office Environment Department - "Regulated Tenancies in Scotland" and "Assured Tenancies in Scotland" and "Private Rented Sector Tenants Your Rights".
Your landlord is a resident landlord if you live in the same house as him and it is his only or principal home.
Normally this means that, if you and your landlord both have your main home in the same building, he will be a resident landlord. But he does not qualify as resident if he lives in one flat of a block that was built as separate flats (a "purpose-built" block of flats such as a tenement) and you live in another flat in the same block. In addition, if you started renting since 2 January 1989, your landlord does not qualify as resident if the house has been converted into separate flats, and you live in one flat in the converted house and he lives in another.
You may or may not have a Part VII contract
If you have been the tenant of a resident landlord since before 2 January 1989 you may have what is known as a Part VII contract (Part VII of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 contains the main Rent Act provisions which govern such lettings). Although there have been no new Part VII contracts since that time, Part VII contracts which started before 2 January 1989 continue to exist until they are terminated or a substantial change is made to their terms.
If your landlord moves out of the house, he is no longer a resident landlord (except in the special circumstances explained below). Once he ceases to be a resident landlord, you will probably become either a regulated tenant (if your tenancy started before 2 January 1989) or an assured tenant (if your tenancy started since then).
In certain circumstances, however, your position may not change even if your landlord moves out. If the house is sold and the buyer intends to be a resident landlord, he has 28 days from the date on which all the formalities of the sale are completed to write to you as the tenant saying he intends to move in. If he gives this notification, the buyer then has up to 6 months before he must move in. During this period, however, you can only be forced to leave if the landlord is able to establish certain grounds for doing so.
The other exceptional case is when your landlord dies. In those circumstances, his executors have up to 2 years to wind up the estate. During that period, the executors take the place of the resident landlord. Unless there is a new resident landlord who is either living in the house or has given the notice referred to above by the end of 2 years, or when the estate is wound up if sooner, you will probably become a regulated or an assured tenant at that time.
Normally, you will be able to stay for as long as you have an agreement with your landlord. You have no rights by law to stay in the house beyond that time (but your landlord will usually need to get a court order before evicting you - see question 4).
However, exceptionally, if your let started before 1 December 1980 and you have a Part VII contract (see question 1) you can apply to the Rent Assessment Committee to have any notice to quit suspended. If granted, this would give you security of tenure for a period of up to 6 months from the date on which the notice to quit would otherwise have had effect.
In addition, if your landlord obtains a court order to evict you, the sheriff may postpone the date on which your landlord can take possession of your house or room, perhaps to allow you to make other arrangements.
Unless you have a Part VII contract which started before 1 December 1980 your landlord can apply direct to the court for an order for possession once he has brought the letting to an end. The court can postpone the date when the order for possession comes into effect for up to 3 months, but no longer.
This will depend on the kind of agreement you have. However, he will have to give you reasonable notice that you must leave, which must be at least 4 weeks. If for some reason you feel that you cannot leave at that time, your landlord will in most cases have to get a court order before he can force you to leave.
However, your resident landlord does not need a court order if the following conditions are met:
Remember that your landlord must be resident and both these conditions need to be met for your landlord to be able to proceed without a court order. For example, the fact that your letting agreement is not called a tenancy does not of itself necessarily prevent it from being one. If you are in doubt, you should always obtain advice in these situations.
It is a criminal offence for someone to try to force a tenant to leave his home without going through the proper legal procedures. So, unless your landlord has the right to evict you without a court order (see question 4), you should obtain advice immediately. If your landlord uses physical violence, you should inform the police at once. More information about this is in the Scottish Development Department leaflet "Protection against Harassment and Illegal Eviction".
Your rent, and any arrangement for increasing it, should be dealt with in your letting agreement. If your letting started on or after 2 January 1989, in the vast majority of cases the rent arrangements in your agreement can be changed only if you and your landlord agree. If your letting started before 2 January 1989, it will probably be a "Part VII Contract". This gives you (or your landlord) the right to apply to a Rent Assessment Committee to determine a reasonable rent. If this happens the Rent Assessment Committee will take account of any views put to them by you or your landlord. The rent they fix and register may be higher, lower or the same as the one your landlord is charging, but in any case it will become the highest rent that your landlord is allowed to charge by law.
Once a reasonable rent has been registered by a Rent Assessment Committee, it is not normally possible to have a new rent determined for 3 years.
If you have a Part VII Contract, your landlord can charge a deposit of up to 2 months rent, but no more. In other cases your landlord can agree with you a deposit of any amount.
If you have a Part VII contract and your rent is payable weekly the landlord has a duty to provide a rent book. If you do not have a Part VII contract you should make sure that you keep a record of your payments and that your landlord gives you a receipt for each payment.
This is for you and your landlord to agree.
This is also for you and your landlord to agree.
No. But it is always helpful to have the terms of your letting clearly set out in writing.
COUNCIL OFFICES: information about the housing and public health laws.
RENT OFFICER: fair rents for accommodation let on protected tenancies.
RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE: reasonable rents for accommodation let before 2 January 1989 by resident landlords and other accommodation to which Part VII of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 applies.
CITIZENS' ADVICE BUREAU: general information.
ADDRESS OF RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE
You can get in touch with the Rent Assessment Committee at the following address:
3rd Floor
140 West Campbell Street
GLASGOW
G2 4TZ
Telephone: 0141 572 1170
Fax: 0141 572 1171
Housing Advice may be available from:
1. Your local District or Islands Council Housing Department; or
2. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau
You should be able to find the local office of any of these by looking up the telephone directory for your area or checking at your local library. In case of difficulty in locating a Citizens Advice Bureau you should contact the Head Office address given below. The Head Office staff cannot deal with personal enquiries but will be able to refer you to your nearest office which provides independent advice and assistance.
Citizens Advice Scotland
26 George Square
EDINBURGH EH8 9LD
Telephone 0131-667 0156
There are also Shelter Housing Aid Centres (SHAC) in Scotland which provide free, independent advice and assistance. They can be found at the following addresses:
Aberdeen SHAC
47 Belmont Street
ABERDEEN, AB1 1JS
Telephone 01224 645586.
Edinburgh SHAC
Ground Floor, Unit 2, Kittle Yards,
Causewayside, EDINBURGH, EH9 1PJ
Telephone 0131-466 8031
Glasgow SHAC
53 St Vincent Crescent
GLASGOW, G3 8NQ
Telephone 0141-221 8995
Nithsdale Housing Advice Service
Holywood Trust Building
Old Assembly Close
Irish Street
DUMFRIES, DG1 2PH
Telephone 01387 51192
Solicitors well versed in landlord and tenant matters can be found by contacting:
Law Society of Scotland,
26 Drumsheugh Gardens,
EDINBURGH, EH3 71R.
Telephone 0131-226 7411.
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